Automatic Enrollment Refunds

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If you were automatically enrolled in the TSP, you may request a refund of your employee contributions that were made under the automatic enrollment program during the first 90 days of your automatic enrollment period.

Requesting Your Refund

To request a refund, you must submit Form TSP-25, Automatic Enrollment Refund Request, before the expiration of your 90-day refund period. When the TSP receives your first contribution, you will receive a "welcome letter" from the TSP. The information in the letter includes the date your refund request must be received in order to be processed, as well as other details related to your refund.

If you make a contribution election to change your automatic contributions in any way, you are no longer in the "automatic enrollment period." Therefore, you cannot request a refund of any contributions you made after that change.

Refund Requests for Rehired Participants

If you are a FERS or CSRS employee who was rehired after a break in service of 31 or more full calendar days, you will be automatically enrolled in the TSP. If you had been automatically enrolled in the TSP prior to your break in service, your eligibility for a refund of your contributions depends on whether or not your previous refund period had expired and the length of time since your last automatic enrollment contribution.

If the refund deadline from your prior automatic enrollment period has expired, you will not be eligible to request a refund of your automatic enrollment contributions until one full calendar year (January to December) has passed since your last automatic enrollment contribution. If one full calendar year has passed, you will be issued a new refund deadline date.

If the refund deadline from your prior automatic enrollment period has not expired, you will have up until that date to request your refund.

Requesting a refund of your automatic employee contributions will not stop your agency from deducting future contributions from your pay each pay period. If you also want to stop your automatic contributions, you must make a contribution election. For more information, visit Starting, Changing, and Stopping Your Contributions on this website.

Refund Requests for Separated Participants

If you separate from service within the first 90 days of becoming automatically enrolled, and your balance is $200 or more, you can request a refund of your automatic enrollment contributions or a withdrawal from your account.

CSRS Participants

Use Form TSP-25, Automatic Enrollment Refund Request. Your own contributions and earnings on those contributions will be refunded to you. There will be 10% withholding for Federal income tax, and you'll pay no early withdrawal tax penalty.

FERS Participants

You can use Form TSP-70, Request for Full Withdrawal, instead of Form TSP-25, Automatic Enrollment Refund Request, to obtain your refund. You'll receive your own contributions (and earnings) and all Agency Matching Contributions (and earnings). There will be 20% tax withholding and you may be subject to the 10% IRS early withdrawal tax penalty. You will forfeit your Agency Automatic (1%) Contributions, unless you were vested (entitled to keep them).

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